Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Jameis Winston Responds To The Twitter Grammar Police

For the people that criticize the way that I talk this is for y'all. The Florida state Seminoles are national champions! That is all.
— Jameis Winston (@Jaboowins) January 7, 2014

Jameis Winston just concluded arguably the greatest college football season of all time. As a redshirt freshman, Winston won the Heisman trophy, led the Florida State Seminoles to an undefeated season, and won the National Championship after throwing a touchdown on the game winning drive. Unfortunately, that didn't stop people from attacking his post-game speech.

Let's call a spade a spade, racism had a strong 2013. It was everywhere. No matter what channel you turned on, the subject of race in America was being discussed. Why not ring in 2014 the same way by dividing groups of people based on a one minute speech by an impossibly excited 20 year old?

We can all sit on our couches and harp on proper diction with a beer in our hand, but walk in Jameis' shoes for a second. Interview a lottery winner thirty seconds after they realized they hit the jackpot. Hell, speak to someone that just Plinko'd their way into a Subaru on The Price is Right ten seconds after they won and listen to their speech. Do you honestly think their articulation is going to be on point? It's low-hanging fruit for the "You mad?" crowd to snatch and it is wildly unfair to a young man that has already had a rough year off of the field.

As for Jameis, the dude is country. He sounds like anyone you meet that lives below the Mason-Dixon line. Despite what the Twitter grammar police think, dialect does not equal intelligence. It is a social construct that you pick up if you are constantly surrounded by it. The Dee Dee McCarrons and Katherine Webbs of the world will always exist, but it is necessary to understand the ignorance rather than sweep it under the rug. Jameis could have easily let this slide, but it is encouraging that he responded and quelled the fire, especially after the year that he has had.